Adam Leventhal, Ph.D., Professor of Preventive Medicine and Psychology

A recent study by Adam Leventhal, Ph.D., professor of preventive medicine and psychology at the Keck School of Medicine of USC, was cited by the FDA in its new vaping policy announcement earlier this month.

The policy shift prioritizes enforcement against flavored e-cigarette products that appeal to children, including mint and fruit flavors.

Leventhal’s study, published in JAMA on Nov. 5, found that mint is the flavor most preferred by teens who use JUUL-brand e-cigarettes, followed by mango. 

JUUL referred to that data in a statement two days later, when it announced it would stop selling mint pods in the United States, in addition to mango and other flavors that it had dropped earlier in the year. Under the FDA’s new policy, companies still offering flavored products have to stop the manufacture, distribution and sale of flavored cartridge-based e-cigarettes other than tobacco or menthol by the first of February, or risk FDA enforcement actions.